Antisemitic, Anti-Gay Groups gather for Al-Quds Day Hatefests

A screengrab of the Al-Quds Day Toronto rally cover photo on the event's Facebook event page

By Tevy Pilc Staff Writer/Researcher B'nai Brith Canada

A weekend in Toronto typically highlighted by themes of happiness and inclusion is about to get a massive dose of good-old fashioned hate.

Sandwiched between Canada Day (Friday July 1), the Pride Parade (Sunday July 3) and the July 4 holiday in the United States will be the International al-Quds Day rally on Saturday July 2. In Toronto, the day is marked by speeches outside Queen’s Park followed by a march to the US Consulate (360 University Ave). Events are also taking place in Edmonton at the Alberta Legislative Grounds and at city hall in Calgary.

The rally has developed a notorious reputation for being a soapbox for anti-Israel, antisemitic and anti-gay rhetoric and hate speech – which is something consistent with human rights in the regime of the Ayatollahs.

"The hateful nature of this event at Queen's Park has been well documented since 2009," said Michael Mostyn, CEO of B'nai Brith Canada. "The Khomeinist regime has a long history of human rights abuse, and the al-Quds rally is simply a platform to spread its propaganda. There is no place in Canada for such intolerant, anti-democratic and despotic rhetoric."

Here is a list of of cities, times and venues for the events being held. All take place on Saturday June 2 and all times listed are local.